Newsstand: January 7, 2013

Time to dust off that Leafs jersey! In the news: Rob Ford has his day in court, again; those new $20s look good, but don't always work well; a taxpayers' group says we can fund subways with casino money; and hockey is finally, finally coming back.

Today’s the big day: Rob Ford’s appeal of the court decision that could remove him from office begins, though the final decision on whether or not he can remain mayor could take weeks. Mayor Ford is appealing a December Ontario Superior Court decision that found him in violation of the province’s conflict-of-interest laws due to improper solicitation of donations to his football foundation. If that decision stands he’ll be removed from office, though he would be free to run in the resulting by-election.

Those new $20 bills sure look neat, but they might not do you much good when you really need a bag of chips on the run. Thousands of vending machines still aren’t able to take the redesigned bills, and owners are peeved at the Bank of Canada about it, though the Bank says it provided months of lead time with sample bills to vending-machine companies that chose to take advantage of the offer. In the meantime, maybe start making sure you’ve got change for that vending-machine pop?

The Toronto Taxpayers Coalition has an idea about how we can fund those subways the mayor wants us to have: casinos! The group released a report on Sunday calling for “Transit Funding Trifecta” of a hosting fee for a Toronto casino, revenues from licensed gambling tables in Toronto bars, and gambling from within Toronto on the OLG website. It’s worth noting that even if the money shows up, the city still doesn’t have a plan on building subways to move forward with.

And rejoice, hockey fans: the NHL lockout is over and play will begin later this month. Or, you know, respond with frustrated indifference; the league has suffered considerable damage in the court of public opinion due to the 113-day lockout. The Toronto Maple Leafs already lost the Winter Classic, which was set to be played in Detroit earlier this month, because of the work stoppage. The team has room under the new salary cap for current Vancouver Canuck Roberto Luongo’s contract, so expect those trade rumours to quickly resurface. The shortened season could start by January 15, with training camp beginning on Wednesday, and will have 48 or 50 games.